


You Can Soar

by kamukura (Kamu)



Series: Look at the Sky [1]
Category: Barbie - All Media Types, Barbie Fairytopia (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Platonic Relationships, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-11-28 21:10:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20973113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamu/pseuds/kamukura
Summary: Mermaids love beautiful things. It's a common weakness of their species."You're beautiful, but you're notthatbeautiful."Nori is no different.





	You Can Soar

**Author's Note:**

> nori: no. i can't be in love with elina. i'm straight for Nalu. Ya basic!
> 
> nalu, grabbing this tsundere bi at the shoulders: No, Nori. _Ya_ basic

Elina of the Magic Meadow. Savior of Fairytopia. Favorite of Guardian Fairy Azura, and blessed by the Enchantress. Pure of heart, and...exceedingly beautiful.

Obviously, Nori couldn’t let her anxiety show upon measuring up her opponent. She had to put on a tough front in front of Nalu’s potential love interest. Weakness meant she would lose...lose him.

Nori only found out about Elina after Nalu came to her one day, raving endlessly about the courageous fairy he had helped escape from a flock of Fire Birds. It had turned out Mermaidia’s youngest prince had been at the forefront of the action at Crystal Cove.

Nalu’s eyes sparkled as he talked about the flower fairy. It was like he forgot Nori was there. Kidnapping? Fire Birds? Caterpillars? Evil plots? Sure, it was an exciting divot from their regular monotony but couldn’t he see? None of that had anything to do with Mermaidia. Elina brought danger to their peaceful waters, danger to _ Nalu, _and for that Nori couldn’t forgive her.

She couldn’t tell him what she thought, but it seemed she was the only one who would listen. The other mermaids had floated away in disinterest, bored with Nalu’s enthusiasm as he began to reminisce about the adventures they had when they were guppies. It was the one good thing to come out of this; Nori had Nalu all to herself when he got like this.

“Remember trying to weave in and out of the geysers?” Nalu asked, laying about in Crystal Cove for the third time this week.

“You singed your dorsal fin when you thought you could beat the last geyser. Your mom was so mad!” Nori teased. She didn’t miss how Nalu’s attention strayed toward the waterfall, as if expecting a Fire Bird or a certain flower fairy to fall out of the sky.

“Hey, you’re the one who had to cut your hair after it almost caught fire, and underwater, too!” Nalu laughed.

Back then, Nori prided herself in her long, flowing blue hair, which was prized among the hunters for the natural camouflage advantage it gave. The other mermaids made fun of her, saying she was always meant to be a jellyfish, spineless and blending into the background. It was dumb criticism Nori didn't need from mermaids looking for an easy one-way ticket to being a princess.

Nevertheless, Nori wanted to be beautiful for the one she loved. No snide comments could take that desire away from her.

So, despite her low regard for trends and outer appearances, the damage to her hair hit her hard.

After they put out the fire, her ends were frayed and black, beyond any hope of saving. There was nothing they could do but chop it off. Even her eyebrows had burnt off, forcing her to actually use the brown eyebrow filler her sister gifted her as a joke present.

In reality, she wasn’t that much different from those narcissistic mermaids. Nori had intended to grow her hair out and gift it to Nalu. Things in nature rarely came in blue, so it was considered good luck if one carried an item in the color. She hoped, if Nalu accepted, her hair would make him think of her.

She couldn’t do that with singed hair. Nori’s tears were another drop of salt in the ocean, but they were filled with her grief in starting over. By the time she grew her hair back, it might be too late.

Nalu saved her from her spiral into despair, unexpectedly.

“Oh no.” Nalu swam up to her and delicately touched her loose ends, floating about her like tendrils of fried jellyfish arms. “I know how much you valued your hair. I’m sorry, No-no.” That was his nickname for her, since they were young.

“It’s not your fault,” she mumbled.

“Even so, it wouldn’t have gotten this way if I hadn’t suggested we swim through those geysers.”

Nori glared at him through her hair. “So what? It’s just hair. Who cries over a bit of hair? It’ll grow back.” Her voice cracked, betraying her distress behind the mock anger.

Nalu was silent, lips pressed in a tight line. His eyebrows furrowed then loosened as he got an idea.

“Hey, I wanna show you something.” 

He led her by the hand up the rest of the tunnel. Nalu probably took the shaking as one from crying, instead of the shock of having him hold her hand. His palm felt rough from the sun and grabbing rocks for climbing.

The geysers were no match for the warmth between their joined hands.

Nalu brought them to an underwater cavern. They broke the surface and basked in the humidity of the air pocket for a second before Nalu headed to an island a bit further, covered in bushes of yellow flowers.

He plucked one off and offered it to Nori. She accepted it, like she had any gift Nalu gave her, with a question in her eyes.

“A ferry snail told me these flowers mean reincarnation and return. If the seeds are eaten, they stimulate growth.” Nalu grinned as he tucked the flower behind her ear. “See? Your hair will grow back in no time. I know how impatient you are, Miss Fastest-Butterfly-Stroke-of-Mermaidia.”

She traced the place his fingers brushed, heat rushing to her ears. What to do? Nori completely forgot about her ruined split ends. Now, there was only Nalu on her mind.

“Thanks,” she murmured. She tilted her head and crossed her arms. “I’m still cutting my hair, though.”

“Your hair does look sort of cool now. The blue with black tips could be the next big thing,” Nalu suggested, grinning as they swam back the way they came.

“If you say so,” Nori said, rolling her eyes.

“You know, maybe I should take that flower back. I might want to try your hairstyle, trendsetter,” Nalu teased.

“No!” Nori seized the flower. She blushed as Nalu blinked. “I mean, it’s mine now. I need it more.”

Nalu sighed and shook his head. “Okay, just making sure! I think I would look great with long hair. You think I should go for it?”

Nori had considered the thought frequently, enough that she got sick of it. All the other princes had long hair, to represent their status as royalty with no need for hunting. Hunters with long whipping hair were uncommon, as the hair got in the way. Only the elders with superior skill had their hair long, and even then they kept it secured in tightly coiled braids down their backs.

Nori stopped in realization. Huh. That’s an idea.

“Nori?” Nalu stopped beside her.

“Do you know any skilled swordfish stylists?” Nori asked.

“I can ask around. My sister probably knows one. Why?”

“I need to cut my hair right now immediately. Call her shellphone!”

Nalu laughed in pleasant surprise. “Okay, then! As you command, Miss Impatient.”

“Oh, stop it!”

The memory had a rough start but ended on a good note. It was a memory she treasured, shared only between her and Nalu.

This flower fairy was gonna ruin everything.

“You’re beautiful but...you’re not_ that _ beautiful.”

She wondered why she phrased it like that instead of outright remarking that Elina was ugly. The best way to offend a mermaid was to tell a truth they didn’t want to hear. Nori could say “You’re ugly” and mean their personality, or the way they treated scuttlefish when they crossed the currents. Either way, Nori always tried to tell the truth, if worded a bit vaguely so the other party's imagination could fill in the rest.

Now, with Elina...there wasn’t any part of her that was ugly. Perhaps she was a bit insecure, for reasons Nori couldn’t understand. Mermaids were the most sensitive to ugliness, and they recognized it in themselves and others. For example, Nori knew the most ugly trait about her was her possessiveness. Even now, as she accused Elina of dragging Mermaidia into her mess, she was claiming Mermaidia, and by extension Nalu, as her own. She balked at her own audacity as she swam away to find the merfairies.

Later, after she failed to convince the merfairies to tell her about Delphine, she felt impressed with Elina’s own daring. With a bit of choice acting, Elina had managed to invite herself to a food date with a merfairy enamored with her puffball, not a second after Nori told her what she needed to do.

_ “You _ need _ me.” _

Nori didn’t care if she looked desperate. She guffawed and made weak excuses, of course, but Elina never pursued her facade into a mockery. She gazed at Nori with clear amused eyes and a smile without pity. Then, she did what Nori asked like magic, except it wasn’t really; it was pure charm and cleverness, both traits that Nori lacked. For the first time, Nori began to see a glimmer of what Fairytopia and Nalu saw in Elina.

Yes, she felt jealous. Elina was courageous, willing to stand up to Nori’s challenge without fear, and was interesting to banter with. She and Nalu were the same, once, before they grew up. Then, Nori developed her crush, which turned into pining, which transformed into a yearning love for her childhood best friend who was a freaking _ royal. _

Despite all the wonderful things she saw in Elina, the flower fairy was also a bit clueless and naive. Any other mermaid would immediately connect the dots and figure out Nori’s crush on Nalu.

Elina said it herself. _ “Yeah, he’s a good friend.” _

Elina didn’t know how Nalu looked describing the things they had done together in Elina’s short time in Mermaidia. He showed Elina all of _ their _ hangouts, including nice places tourists wouldn’t have found otherwise without an adventurous prince as a guide.

Elina thought of him as a friend for now but what if she discovered Nalu’s feelings? What, then? Would she realize how beautiful Nalu looked fresh out of the water, his tan skin gleaming and rippling under the sunlight? Would Elina notice how powerful Nalu could be, when he got that stormy look in his eyes? Would Elina learn to love the way Nalu’s laugh warmed her to her core, because _ she _was the one who made him laugh during a bad day?

They were both beautiful people. As seen with Delphine’s gift, Elina _ could _transform into a mermaid if she really wanted to.

Guilt immediately followed after the jolt of happiness when Elina showed reluctance at using the pearl necklace.

_ Good, _ she thought. _ You can return to the Magic Meadow and Nalu can stay here with me once we save him. _

_ I’m so bad. It’s up to Nalu and Elina to decide what to do about each other. I’m just an outsider to their blooming romance. _

Delphine’s lip curled when she caught Nori’s eye. She probably knew what Nori was thinking, the sassy slug oracle.

Nori felt for the first time how similar she and Elina were. Elina didn't want to lose her wings, and Nori didn't want to lose her place next to Nalu. She felt herself becoming closer to Elina the longer they journeyed together. Maybe they could be friends, after everything was over. At least one of them had to come out happy. Nori could try to make sure this fairy didn't have to make a hard choice she would regret.

As if fate had it out for her, Nori got herself into a fix, _ again. _She felt death closing in on her as the weed tightened its grip on her body, squeezing her tail and ribs in excruciating pain. Nori couldn’t help but cry out for Elina. Strong, beautiful Elina, who Nori had left behind in her arrogance to take on both their burdens down the Depths of Despair.

Nori could imagine Delphine chuckling somewhere at the top of Mermaidia.

Nori _ hated _know-it-alls.

As she resigned to dying as a mermaid husk in a freaking plant, Elina appeared before her eyes in a vision of pink and the most unique tail Nori had ever seen. Truly, only a Magic tail could look so pretty and also dysfunctional-looking. Somehow, it worked because m-a-g-i-c.

_ “Elina?! _Look at you! You…” Nori couldn’t find the words to describe what she was seeing. Elina was beautiful with her wings, but with a mermaid tail, Nori couldn’t deny it anymore: she had fallen in love at first sight with Elina, the same Elina who Nalu was probably in love with. How did this happen?! Was this a part of Elina’s magic?

Elina told her she used to be wingless until Fairytopia’s Enchantress gave her a magic necklace that gave her her dream wings. Could it be, instead of wings, Elina had this aura that made everyone she met fall in love with her and want to make her happy? 

No, Elina had said almost every fairy shunned her for being wingless until she helped stop Laverna. Elina was wingless when she met Nalu.

So, what was the cause of the weird palpitations in her ribcage as Nori stared into Elina’s green eyes? Nori blamed the plant crushing her lungs.

Elina shook her out of her love triangle dilemma, literally and figuratively. As soon as Nori was pulled out, Elina was dragged into another one.

_ Oh no you don’t, you stupid plant! Elina is mine! _

Nori grabbed Elina’s hand. Her hand was slender, but surprisingly callused. Her palm was warm, too, in these deep, cold waters. Nori was reluctant to release Elina’s hand as they swam away from the weeds toward the bottom of Mermaidia.

The green fish was another know-it-all. Nori didn’t like it instinctively, especially after it snapped at Elina. Who would dare make her friend uncomfortable? The fish was provocative, too. Taunting them with secrets, hinting that maybe her true love would return her feelings...not naming who her true love was, making her wonder if it was Nalu or Elina she was thinking about.

After saving Nalu and Mermaidia, Nori would like to think it was both. Seeing Elina get her wings back, Nori figured anything was possible. Nalu actually returned her feelings, after all, a thing she once thought was impossible. After this journey, Nori believed.

Elina probably didn’t think of love in romantic terms like that. She was special. Her love was pure and platonic, and the fact that she loved Nori and Nalu the same way...Nori could deal with that.

However…

“I noticed you didn’t agree with Elina when she said you guys were ‘just friends’,” Nori probed her newly minted partner.

“Nothing gets past you, huh.” Nalu chuckled, squeezing her hand.

“Of course. We’re the same in that way.” Nori sighed as she watched Elina laugh and do double eights in the air with the puffball creature weaving between her loops. “We both love her so much.”

“...Yeah?” Nalu gazed at her.

“Yeah. She’s amazing.”

“I told you, didn’t I?”

“Oh, stop it. You don’t have to remind me. Your _ mooning _was so annoying hearing about your crush secondhand. I wouldn’t have been surprised if you kept a portrait of her in your room.”

Nalu leaned his head atop hers and didn’t agree or disagree about that last thing. “Is it bad of me to have wanted her to stay as a mermaid with us?” he asked.

“If it’s bad, I’ll be bad with you,” Nori whispered. “Only between us.”

Nalu hummed. “In a different world, I would have asked Elina to forget the fairies that hurt her in the past and join us in Mermaidia. They didn’t know her before she saved them. They don’t deserve to know her now.”

“But we won’t do that. Because Elina loves Fairytopia with all of her heart. If we kept her down here, it would have killed her more than any poison.”

A mermaid’s basic instinct when shown a beautiful thing was to take possession of it at any cost, be it an object or a living thing. Not knowing the difference between want and need got mermaids killed.

For the couple, their _ want _was to be with Elina in Mermaidia forever. In their dreams, that was what they selfishly wished for.

Nalu _ wanted _to keep the Fungi from getting their hands on the Immunity Berry.

Nori _ wanted _to find Nalu first before anyone else got to him.

Elina _ wanted _to keep her wings before they got taken away.

In reality, it was like this:

Nalu _ needed _ to save Mermaidia. Stalling was only a temporary solution to a bigger problem.

Nori _ needed _help. Not everything could be done with headstrong will alone.

Elina _ needed _to be happy, all on her own. The wings were a gift, but a trip to the Depths of Despair reminded her she could do things with her own strength. Nori reminded her of that, too.

In their hearts, Nalu and Nori’s _ need _was for their friend to be happy. Flying in her meadow back in Fairytopia was where Elina would be happiest. They treasured her happiness most.

Sure, it would be lonely without their favorite flower fairy around to liven things up. At the least, they could endure the loneliness together. Knowing Elina, she would gather many more friends who would love her and make sure she was never alone again. This guarantee settled the restlessness in their minds.

They could finally let go of their first true love. Loving each other was like breathing underwater. The merfairies were correct, as they always were. Like mermaids and water, she and Nalu were _ made for each other. _

**Author's Note:**

> i love the little detail with Nori constantly trying to be in contact with Elina at every opportunity using things like "excited girl intimacy" and "danger by pervy tentacle weed" as an excuse. The hand holding is self-evident. And how many times does Nori point out something about Elina? It's because she's always looking at her! That's ~gay longing~, baby!


End file.
